Diamond jubilee events: taxpayer likely to foot most of the bill

Cost of Queen's ceremonies 'unknown as yet' but UK citizens' £1m extra to sovereign grant is not total of public money spent

The Queen's procession, along the Mall, London, on 5 June. Policing, military outlay including the Red Arrows and Thames river security are all factored into the jubilee bill. Photograph: Nigel Roddis/PA

Tuesday 5 June 2012 14.42 EDT
First published on Tuesday 5 June 2012 14.42 EDT

Despite the years of planning and countless hours spent budgeting, rehearsing and finessing, no one seems quite sure how much all the diamond jubilee celebrations have cost – nor who will eventually have to foot the bill.

Although no estimate of the total cost has been made available, much of the burden looks set to fall upon the taxpayer.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which was responsible for co-ordinating the government's role in the celebrations, referred the Guardian to the government Olympic communication press office, who appeared to be minding the shop over the long weekend.

"I'm afraid we don't currently have figures for costs," said a spokesman. "We'll only be able to provide accurate figures after the event."

He stressed the benefits of all the pomp and ceremony. "The Queen's diamond jubilee is a once-in-a-lifetime celebration for the whole country and commonwealth. But it is also an opportunity to showcase to the world the very best of London and the UK and attract new visitors and investment for the long-term benefit of the country. So it is quite right that government plays its part to help ensure the celebrations are a success."

More forthcoming were the organisers of Sunday's Thames diamond jubilee pageant, which cost £10.5m, and which was paid for by donations to a privately-funded charitable trust, the Thames Diamond Jubilee Foundation.

A spokeswoman for the pageant said: "In common with all large public events in the capital there are some policing costs met by the public purse. We've always been open about these and have worked in close collaboration with the Met police."

But the Met, which deployed all 21 of its marine policing boats for the pageant and had 6,000 officers working during the busiest periods of the long weekend, said that while there were "obviously extra costs" it had no figures or estimates as yet.

The Ministry of Defence was also unable to put a price on its involvement in the celebrations. "Much of this will be due to the fact that ceremonial duties form a big part of what we do in the military," said a spokesman. "The same will be true of the Red Arrows, which will be factored into the overall MoD budget."

The BBC, which assumed the costs of producing Monday's diamond jubilee concert, said it would not profit from its role in the jubilee events.

A spokeswoman said that any commercial income from programme sales abroad would be used to offset the costs of staging the concert, adding: "If there is a surplus the BBC has agreed it may go to the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust."

The Greater London Authority said it had contributed about £600,000 to the cost of erecting giant video screens in the capital and stewarding the crowds through busy streets.

A spokesman for the mayor of London said the contribution had "helped ensure the success of hosting one of the most important national events in our country's history, and to help create a safe and enjoyable event for the large crowds that have gathered in central London".

British taxpayers, who financially support the Queen via the annual £30m sovereign grant, have already contributed an additional £1m this year to help with the costs of the diamond jubilee.